The Offer
by faith5bye5
Summary: There are no morals in war.Regardless ofwhich side youre on.Even the most gentle hand's offer demonstrates a mere compassionof strategy.There r certain people whomDumbledore finds easierto treat w such calculated cruelty,after all,Severus expects nothing.


THE OFFER

these are jk rowlings pawns.

* * *

"What…? You want me to do _what_?"

Dumbledore merely looked unwaveringly at him.

"Are you daft, man? Don't you understand what he'd have them do to me if he ever…" Severus faltered, trying to suppress a violent shudder. "I have risked my _life_ in coming here tonight… in taking _on_ such a position I would risk so much more."

"There is more to be risked than life itself?" Albus countered levelly. "Death is all you have to fear Severus, and it is only the essential transition of…"

" - Don't you _talk_ to me like that," Severus sneered horribly in disgust. "You think you could convince me with such mindless drivel?"

Albus sighed silently, closing his eyes. Severus' face fell in despair.

"Sir," Severus implored him, changing tactics helplessly, "for the prisoners of the Dark Lord, death is reserved as a final _reward…" _

Severus' voice retained its searing power, but his outer façade was crumbling with every word.

"It is…an _absurd_ position to offer me…"

"Severus, you are subtle and enduring, with talent beyond the limits of many in our world; you have such enormous potential! The position would offer you the ultimate pathway to absolution. To save so many lives and to be of such benefit would surely-"

"You would presume to _trust_ me?" Severus' eyes smouldered, flashing with some unfathomable emotion, "How dare you! How _can_ you take such _risks_ Dumbledore? I CANNOT be trusted! You have seen _yourself_ what deception I am capable of; I have never shown true loyalty to anyone."

"Who in your life has ever been deserving of it?" Dumbledore's voice was quiet but its question brutal. Severus grew very still.

"You are telling me that _you_ deserve it?"

"No, Severus, I have neither the right nor the will to preach to you on such matters. - I am promising that I will _earn_ your trust, if you deign to accept my offer."

Severus shifted uncomfortably in attempt to combat this unexpected response. He nodded tightly. "I'd expect nothing **less**, given the gravity of what it would entail on my part…"

"I am glad to _hear_ it, Severus, for I have come to understand the contrary;" Dumbledore interjected. Severus' eyes flickered in sudden trepidation, "that you have little sense of what your allegiance is worth and grown to expect nothing for your suffering. That your decisions have been unbalanced, and your vision distorted by desperation…"

Severus raised his head fiercely, his lips pursed in defiance, but his eyes shining vulnerably; Dumbledore's words evoked the private truths that defined his own self-loathing.

"It is not your _place_ to make such conjectures, Dumbledore! I have always done what was right by me. '_Morality_' is a difficult thing to prioritise when a person is met ceaselessly with such severe prejudice as _I _have been, across the years. I have never believed in anything. I have never had anyone I valued enough to esteem their judgement of me, or personal ethics by which to measure my own actions. It makes things…difficult, Dumbledore;" Severus' eyes fell with shame and self-pity, " it has allowed me to be…negligent in my decisions."

Albus stepped forward congenially in the hopeless silence.

"I can offer you what you have been lacking, Severus. The stable constant on which to anchor yourself. You won't have to be alone anymore; I'll not let you go astray. You will have my judgements to fall back on, until you no longer need them, and you will have the freedom to reject every _one_."

Severus' dark eyes searched Albus' face mercilessly.

"You know what it is you are asking of me?" He asked again, softly.

"I do."

"Well." Severus relented stiffly in resignation. "I have lost any possible delusions I may have clung to." Albus raised his eyebrows uncertainly and Severus elaborated: "There is no denying the existence of a war once _Dumbledore_ himself condemns a pawn for the 'greater good'."

"I am sad to say that you are not the first; our very _effort_ depends on your not being the last." Dumbledore sighed wearily, and then attempted a weak smile. "But I am happy, at least, that you understand the reluctance with which I seek to enlist you , and that in better circumstances, I would not have attempted to ensnare you so, in a moment of rare vulnerability. Indeed, I wish with all my heart that I could still afford such luxuries as _unconditional compassion_."

Severus smirked bitterly. "I would not have known it had you demonstrated such a thing, Headmaster. Do not mourn its loss on my account."

The Headmaster's eyes deadened. "I am sorry, Severus. I should have intervened in your life sooner. I should have made more of an effort protect your spirit."

"You may save your speech, Headmaster." Severus interrupted blankly. He stood up slowly. "I accept your offer. My answer is yes."

* * *

Pheneas Nigelus opened his eyes and sat up straight in his portrait as Severus Snape closed the office door behind him; he had listened avidly to the entire interaction, and was now consumed with amazement at how they had benefited from the outcome.

"This is extraordinarily good fortune, Headmaster. You have your spy in the highest circle of the Dark Lord; you could never have planted such a pivotal player even if you'd planned it from the very start! What remarkably good fortune-"

"You still hold faith to fortune, my old friend?" The Headmaster asked, his voice numb.

"Naturally, Albus." Phineas grinned whole-heartedly. "You should have more _faith_ in the fates! Destiny is no turncoat, Albus."

"Perhaps not. But even destinies must be tailored by someone."

Phineas shook his head, smiling with belligerent naivety. "It is not our place to question who."

"I fear that we have no need to."

Phineas' confidence floundered slightly. "Albus..?"

"A funny thing about Severus:" Dumbledore's tone was odd; he spoke blankly towards the closed office door, "to treat him callously, unjustly…insensitively - it only serves to further his desperate yearning to win your affection. Regardless of the cost to himself."

Pheneas listened silently in growing unease, as the Headmaster lowered his head grimly. "I have been aware of it for longer than you could imagine." The great man trembled, but his voice remained steady. "I cannot bear to remember how long. Nothing shames me more. You see, Phineas…"

Dumbledore rose, and slowly placed his half-mooned glasses on his desk. "…I learned the secret from his father. "

The faith in Phineas' aged eyes…flickered, wounded.

As Dumbledore retreated slowly from his office, the candles dimmed in his wake.

Pheneas Nigelus was motionless in his portrait, staring after the great man in dismay. When he finally spoke aloud, it was with devastating resignation.

"So. It seems we have been at this war for longer than any of us realised."

* * *

End.

Reviews all around! If you enjoyed this little scene, please take time to read my other - longer/ more involved severus stories (A bad prank & nos morituri, te salutamos), and let me know what you think…

thank you


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